Spanish Cannon

[Goldhunter]

Thought you cannon guys would like this. This cannon was unearthed in Eastern Utah and is owned by the National Guard, specifically the Artillery units here. Not sure exactly when it was found, still trying to find out (something like forty years ago). It is spanish in origin. The carriage was made so it could be displayed. It is currently in one of our Armories. When the unit closed their old armory and moved into a new one, they fired the cannon, with a very low blank charge, once at each location.

 

[Goldhunter]

Here are a couple other views.

From a current Redleg, Enjoy!
:grin:

 

[WRussell]

Somewhere I read an interesting history of cannons in the West. Seems ships sailing from S. America during gold rush days bought obsolete cannons in S. America to store as ballast, hoping to resell in California. Some Mormons bought several and took them to Salt Lake City. Fun stuff.

 

[Story]

On a related note, did anyone see this article?:
[url] http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,645195257,00.html[/url]

Cresap, dressed in the uniform of a captain of artillery from the early 1800s, showed off his eight weapons, including a King Howitzer, a Spanish Howitzer, a "door knocker" petard, a swivel gun and two large cannons.
He explained why it matters that the barrels are intact and bored correctly.
He used no matches, lighting the ignitor cord with flint and steel or a magnifying glass each time.
He packed his mortars using black tinfoil, wooden forms and loose gunpowder weighed each time on a scale.
He shared interesting bits of history and trivia.
"The cannon was once queen of the battlefield. It was 5 percent effective against the enemy. Firing one round a minute, after 20 rounds and 10 minutes, one man would be taken out," he said. "But they were great intimidation."

5% effective??? :shocked2:

 

[WRussell]

You'd think that would depend on what kind of enemy they were shooting at. Indians, maybe 5%, ranked infantry, I would think just a touch higher.

 

[John Morris]

Exactly where was the cannon cast? This will be the first word all the way around basering to the left, it wasn’t photographed. It should be either Barcelona or Sevilla, but I don’t recognize that model so might be elsewhere.

 

[chorizo]

Send the information, pictures and any identifying marks to the Spanish Army Museum of Artillery in Toledo, Spain

https://ejercito.defensa.gob.es/museo/museo/atencion_investigadores/
They have EXTENSIVE records and will be able to help

 

[John Morris]

Send the information, pictures and any identifying marks to the Spanish Army Museum of Artillery in Toledo, Spain

https://ejercito.defensa.gob.es/museo/museo/atencion_investigadores/
They have EXTENSIVE records and will be able to help

Thanks, I’m gathering info. I’m still collecting Spanish cannons if you hear of any authentic ones, I’ll try to post a photo of some in the collection.